Child labor

Children as young as five worked in factories and mines. They were preferred by some employers because they were small (could reach into machinery), cheap (paid less than adults), and obedient (easier to discipline). They worked the same long hours as adults, were beaten if they fell asleep at machines, and often suffered permanent injuries or deformities from being forced to perform repetitive tasks during their growing years.

Reform investigations gradually exposed these conditions to the public. The 1832 Sadler Committee in Britain documented horrifying child labor abuses. The first Factory Acts (1833 and after) restricted child labor and limited working hours for children, eventually expanding to adult workers.